Garment and waistband structure



y 15 1956 H. J. GEMIGNANI GARMENT AND WAISTBAND STRUCTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Nov. 27, 1954 INVENTOR. 17a 0 f fiemguam HTTUPIVEYS g 1 Q/X/VA/VA INVENTOR.

flTTOiP/VEYS H. J. GEMIGNAN l GARMENT AND WAISTBAND STRUCTURE May 15 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 27, 1954 GARMENT AND WAISTBAND STRUCTURE Hugo J. Gemignani, Rochester, N. Y., assignorto Hickey- Freeman Company, Rochester, N. Y., a corporation of v New York Application November 27,1953, Serial No. 394,59

2 Claims. (Cl. 2-236) This invention relates to a functionally and structurally improved garment and waistband assembly; the present application being a continuation of my prior applications for United States- Letters Patent, Serial Nos. 118,563, filed September '29, 1 949, and-332,230, filed January 21, 1953, now abandoned.

By means of the present invention, a structure is furnished which may be used in numerous different associations ;but which is of primary utility when applied to the waistbands of nether garments such as mens trousers. So applied, it will prevent a permanent distortion or outward flaring of the parts of the garment adjacent the waistband thus assuring thatthe zone of the assembly overlies and extends properly in varying engagement with the adjacent surface of the wearers body evenin the case of a corpulent person. j 1 v A garment embodying the present improvements may be worn with or without a separate supporting belt but even when a belt isem'ployed, will assure that the inner face or lining of the garment will remain in firm'contact with the wearer and not be subject to permanent deformation or distortion. Moreover, by the present teachings, the elements of the waistband which serve to.

assure the desired results will be prevented from becoming accidentally displaced or dislodged with resultant discomfort to the wearer and'eventual detriment to the appearance of the garment.

An additional 'object is that of providing a structure which may readily be produced and incorporatediin a garment with minimum effort and expense. 11;

With these and other objects in mind, reference is had to the attached sheets of drawings illustrating practical embodiments of the invention and in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of the waist portion of a garment with the present waistband incorporated therein;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken along the line 22 and in the direction of the arrows as indicated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a reinforcing or rigidifying strip such as is embodied in the present assembly;

Fig. 4 is a face view of a fragment of this strip in greatly enlarged detail;

Fig. 5 illustrates in perspective the assembly as shown in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing a slightly dilferent form of assembly. 7

Referring primarily to Fig. l, the numeral 10 indicates the body of a nether garment such as a pair of slacks. These are provided with a waistband portion 11; the zone of connection of these parts being defined, for example, by a line of stitching 12. The garment is provided with a fly which, in applied position of the gar- 52,745,101 Patented May 15, 1956 "ice taining loops 13 may have their upper ends secured to waistband .portion 11. Their lower ends are attached to the body of garment 10 with their bodies bridging the adjacent edge portions as defined by line 12 and the upper ends of the loops, in accordance with conventional practice, preferably extending at points well below the upper edge of waistband portion 11. r

A stiffening strip 14 (hereinafter described in detail) isl'incorporated within waistband portion 11. A lining strip 15 is applied to-the inner face of stiffening strip 14 with the upper and lower edges offthe material prov viding waistband portion 11 being turned inwardly upon Facing strips or assemblies 17 and 18 may also be provided inwardly of the surfaces of garment body 10 and waistband portion 11.

In order to secure the parts in properly assembled condition, a row of stitching 19 may extend through the upper zone of facing strip 17 and the adjacent inturned. edge portions 16 of waistband 11. A similar line of stitching extends through the inturned portion 16 and the upper edge zone of lining strip 15. Rows of stitching 21 and 22 also extend through stiffening strip 14. The second of these rows may additionally extend through the lining strip 15 andif desired-through to the upper end portion of loop 13 although of course separate stitching may be employed in the latter connection. In any event, lines of stitching 21 and 22'will prevent the legs of U-shapedstiffening strip 14 from shifting materially with respect to each other and therestrip 14, attention is primarily directed to Figs. 3 and 4.

' and have sinusoidal form.

ment, is maintained closed by a securing element such In those views, sections of the material have been shown which are of hair'cloth or have the characteristics of such cloth. This will include longitudinally extending flexible fiberslZS and similar fibers 26 which extend transversely of the strip 14. These fibers are interwoven In addition, extending transverse of this stiffening strip are fibers 27 which are hairs and preferably natural horsehair, although synthetic horsehair having similar stiff, resilient, smooth characteristics may beemployed. At this time it is to be understood that in lieu of conventional haircloth, the functional equivalent thereof may be employed. Therefore, this expression is to be taken in an illustrative rather than in a limiting sense. in any event, fibers 27 will be relatively stiff and smooth and have the characteristic of freely sliding out'of the interwoven fabric or mesh providing the body of the strip. These fibers constituting the transverse stiffening members must therefore be locked against displacement as otherwise the wearer will be subjected to discomfort and utility of the structure will gradually be dissipated as fibers are lost.

To this end, strip 14 is folded upon itself preferably midway between its side edges as shown. This will cause fibers 27 to extend uninterruptedly across the line of fold,

thus locking these fibers against downward movement with respect to the body of the strip. Upward movement of the same is prevented as in Fig. 2 because they are enclosed within the inwardly folded upper edge portion 16 of waistband 11. Fibers 27 will in no manner resist conformation of the stiffening strip 14 to the waist of the wearer, in that longitudinal ilexibilty is assured by the fiber 25. Also, these stiffening fibers, being disposed generally parallel to the transverse fibers 26, will permit the waistband to be constricted as, for example, by a belt without any discomfort. However they will resist transverse flexing of the waistband and will also re-establish the position of the-latter even if distorted to a great extent due to the corpulence of the wearer and despite the fact that they may simultaneously be subjected to moisture such as perspiration and body heat. Due to the lines of stitching 21 and 22, the legs of the U providing individual fibers 27 will be restrained from freelysliding with respect to each other under transverse flexing of the band. This will enhance the stiffening effect produced by the latter.

As in Fig. 6 the body of the garm nt 25' may be continued to also include the waistband portion. A stiffening strip 26' as heretofore described is incorporated in this portion. The upper edge of thegarment material is turned inwardly and downwardly as at 27' to overlap the upper edge and line of strip 26'. A lining strip 28 may, as also heretofore described, be applied to the inner face of stiffening strip 26. A U-shaped protecting strip formed of any suitable material has been indicated as at 31 and is inverted and interposed between the line of fold of strip 26' and the adjacent inner face of the garment layer 25' Facing strips or layers 29 and 30 may also be employed. The several layers and strips may be secured to each other by suitable lines of stitching indicated generally at 32.

Despite the fact that the horsehair strands 27. are relatively stiff rather than being merely resilient and springy, they perform the stiffening function of always restoring the waistband to shape. Also, because they are smooth and slippery and do not take the sinusoidal interwoven form of the woven fabric of which they form a part, they will be retained against dislodgement or displacement. This is because of the fact that the fabric is folded sharply upon itself so that these strands take a permanent set at the folded line or upper edge of the strip which prevents downward displacement of the fibers or strands with respect to the remaining threads 25 and 26 of the fabric. Upward movement of strands 27 with respect to the body of the strip is prevented due to the overlapping upper edge of the waistband portion whether or not a protecting strip such as 31 is employed.

Thus, among others, the several objects of the invention as specifically aforenoted are achieved. Ob-

viously, numerous changes in construction and re-arrangements of the parts might be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, a garment, a layer of material attached thereto and providing a waistband portion defining the upper zone of the same, a stifiening strip comprising relatively rigid transversely-extending fibers folded upon themselves in inverted U form and relatively flexible fibers extending longitudinally of said strip and interwoven with said stiif fibers to maintain the latter in substantially predetermined positions with respect to each other, said stiffening strip being disposed adjacent the inner face of said waistband portion with the crotches of said rigid fibers extending upwardly and the legs thereof lying parallel to that portion, the material of said waistband portion adjacent its upper edge extending inwardly over and downwardly around the crotches of said stiif fibers, a lining strip having an upper edge zone interposed between the said stiffening strip and downwardly extending material of the waistband portion and being securedto the latter, said lining strip overlying and bearing against the legs of said stifi fibers and together with the material of said waistbant portion furnishing a sheath for said strip, means for restricting movements of said stiffening strip within said sheath, the lower zone of said lining strip extending adjacent the lowerends of the U-shaped fibers and means for securing such zone of said lining strip to the lower edge zone of material of said waistband portion to completely enclose said stiffening strip within said sheath.

2. In the combination as set forth in claim 1, such lining strip being substantially flat, the lower zone of the waistband material being folded upwardly around the lower edge of said stiffening strip and the last-named securing means comprising a line of stitching extending through the lower zone of said lining strip and the upwardly-folded lower zone of the waistband material.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 615,579 Sellers Dec. 6, 1898 756,215 Cox Apr. 5, 1904 1,091,197 Cox Mar. 24, 1914 1,123,160 Allum Dec. 29, 1914 1,434,973 Tucker Nov. 7, 1922 1,827,942 Guinzburg Oct. 20, 1931 2,044,236 Zeldis June 16, 1936 

